A Novel Deception
Melanie Marchande
Contemporary Romance/Erotica
Published in 2015
H/h - Adrian Risinger/Meghan Burns Risinger
Setting: Present day.
Read in April, 2015.
My rating:
[might be spoiler-ish]
Oh my word! That was quite the Adrian-Meghan fix, more than what I was expecting. Love, hot sex and drama... His Secretary: Unveiled, a part of A Novel Deception series, had it all and I loved every moment of it!
A Novel Deception series installments have very little connection to one another, except for the fact that one of the protagonists is a writer, who now entangled in a ‘deception’ of sort, which comes back to bite his/her a$$ in some way. Meg and Ryn (LOVE it how she calls him) might or might grace those installments with their short appearances. So you can read most of these stories as stand-alones, but for the ones that exclusively features Meg and Ryn. When I heard that Melanie wants to keep writing about this couple, I was over the moon. I’ve been waiting ever since. You should definitely start with His Secretary: Undone. There’s also a short novella in between called A Valentine for His Secretary. After that, comes His Secretary: Unveiled. In that precise order.
When we were introduced to our Hot Billionaire Boss, Adrian Risinger and his Sassy and Curvy (but harassed) Secretary, Meghan in Undone, it seemed romance was the furthest thing from her mind. It was actually the blurb that caught my attentions where there might’ve been the mention of throwing ashtray towards the a$$hole boss (every secretary’s dream that never comes true... trust me I still can’t get past that blurb without laughing, hence the mention again). Yet, things change irrevocably when Meghan and Adrian are once caught up in the heat of the moment where their mutual attraction is finally revealed. After that, the story goes to tell us how it blossomed into something real and boy, the confession of how the Hot Boss had actually been panting after his Secretary all these times!
Their banters were full of bite and sarcasm, more like foreplay than anything malicious... There was also some drama regarding Adrian’s erotica writing (oh yah, you read it correct), where he had to turn to Meghan to sort it out. Obviously, since it’s always her cleaning up his mess.
In His Secretary: Unveiled, Adrian openly admits that he’s nothing without Meghan. He never has been, he doesn’t believe he ever will be. Meghan is his world. *sighs*
This novella takes off almost right after Undone, where we find that Meg and Ryn have already been married for sometimes now. Again, have to emphasize just how much I LOVE this couple. Their banters are still full of wit and intelligence, of intensity and love. But the trust part is questioned when, 6 months into their marriage, storm clouds start rolling in. An ex-employee of Adrian’s company, a veritable scumbag (story in Undone) who was fired by him, returns to harass Adrian with false accusations. With that, some issues of their relationship (I’d say very realistically) are put to test. Will they survive this calamity together as a team or will the past hurt and confusions rule their judgments?
Honestly, I had no doubt about Meg and Adrian cruising through as the winner in love. Not because there’s supposed to be a mandatory HEA in every romance but it’s just the way they are. They are a team, have always been. I won’t go into further discussion but let me just hint on the good parts. It wasn’t even the hot sex, of which we see precious little. Not really complaining because I was engrossed in the latest dilemma.
These novellas are written from first person POV, and so far, we’ve had Meghan’s. This time, alongside Meghan’s, there was Adrian’s as well. And that was the best part for me. His love, passion and obsession over one woman were pouring through these pages. Though the world deemed her unsuitable for him because she’s overweight and ‘not the type’ his hot a$$ should be seen with, Adrian had no doubt who he wanted and why. For 5 years as his secretary, he’d made her life hell because he didn’t know how to express his feelings. Couldn’t even imagine her feeling anything other than annoyance and resentment where he’s concerned. In fact, he’s still not sure why she loves him the way she does. But Adrian loves her too, always has and can’t imagine his life without her. And he’s not ashamed confessing any of it, because that’s his Meg.
There’s also the part where Adrian’s vulnerability is palpable as he imagines this recent trouble tearing them apart at some point, and his growing fear of living without Meghan. IMO, simply nothing gets better than these heartfelt confessions. Also enjoyed the flashbacks that helped me understand their relationship over the years and just how long a way they’ve travelled to be where they are today. 4.25 stars and recommended.
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